Well, even under the old system, if you booked a ticket 2 or 3 weeks ahead, and ITN showed A9 F9, you didn't have any way of knowing if there were 20 platinums and 10 golds and 10 silvers waiting to upgrade, vs. only a few, right? So, if you were a platinum, you could jump in at the 3 day window to get the upgrade. But if you were a gold and silver you didn't have a way of knowing to "avoid the flight". Also, when it showed A9 F9 in the old system, who's to say that F class wouldn't get sold out or full of Y-fare gold/plat upgrades before you even got the chance to upgrade. Just playing devils advocate

I do agree with your argument though, it would be nice to know how deep on the upgrade list you are when you call to make a reservation (especially if you are gold, or silver like me).